Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach in anyway but am inspired by the work created by Tite Kubo

Chapter 6 – Willpower

The next day back in Karakura Ichigo was busy at work in the clinic with his father. Unbeknownst to his friends he had suddenly decided to stay behind taking community college courses first and working at the clinic for his internship before transferring to university.

It wasn't what he'd initially wanted but as graduation had neared he found himself less and less opposed to the idea. Plus, for now, he was still the guardian of Karakura and would not abandon his duty.

The day passed fairly quickly as they dealt with various patients. Ichigo, for all his rough exterior and blunt nature, had found he was actually really good with children. He figured out after a couple days of handling them the reason for it was he appreciated their straight forward nature.

They in turn responded well to him because he treated them like real people, gave them respect and let them talk.

The end of the day finally reached and he headed upstairs to shower and change before dinner. He took a moment to shoot Orihime a text to see how her day was and then headed to the bathroom.

By the time he'd gotten back she still hadn't answered so he figured she was at work and would get back to him later but he was disappointed.

He knew why he was feeling like this, having realized it not too long after she'd left for Tokyo. He'd been a fool to think that simply ignoring his feelings for her would make them go away. Initially he'd hoped her absence would make it easier for them to disappear entirely so he could go back to thinking of her as a friend; a good friend but just a friend.

But as the days continued to go on he missed her more and more. He'd think of her smile, her laugh, the silly things she would say, or the horrifying concoctions of foods she ate.

Then there were the dreams. They were happening more frequently and becoming more vivid. Half the time he'd wake up wondering if he was re-living a memory because it seemed so real but then he'd shake his head and know it had only been a torturous dream.

"King, I swear, I'm sick of this! It rains in here constantly and your defeatist attitude is grating on my last nerve! Man up! Call her and tell her how you feel!"

Ichigo was disturbed to have his hollow trying to give him romantic advice and ignored him.

Two more days went by and he still hadn't heard from her. Not that they'd talked about it much before she'd left but he had assumed they would stay in contact. They'd been through hell and back together and he considered her one of his closest friends. "Yeah, that I'm in love with but what of it?" He'd thought and then realized what he'd just thought. Was he really in love with her?

After a full week of not hearing from her he broke down and called her. Her cell phone went straight to voicemail so he tried her dorm number.

The phone rang twice and then a male voice answered, "Hello?"

The rich baritone voice startled Ichigo and he pulled the phone away from his ear to glare at it as if it could explain what he was hearing.

He heard the voice say again, "Um, hello?"

When he'd put his ear back to the phone he answered, "Ah, yeah, is Inoue there?"

The voice replied, "She's indisposed at the moment, may I tell her who called?"

Instead of replying to the question Ichigo asked a couple of his own, "What do you mean indisposed? Who the hell are you?"

The male on the other end didn't seem affected by his tone which irritated Ichigo even more, "I mean, she's not available to come to the phone right now. As to who I am, I don't see how that's any of your concern. Now, did you have a message or would you like to call back?"

Ichigo felt a growl rumbling in his chest as he replied, "I'm not hanging up until I speak to her."

There was a pause on the other end of the line but before the man could reply Ichigo heard Orihime's voice in the background, "Dom, who's on the phone?"

He heard the man, Dom apparently, reply, "Some guy who said he's not hanging up until he speaks to you. Is everything ok Orihime?"

Ichiog stiffened at the way Dom said her name, it was way too familiar and he felt an uncomfortable tightening in his chest. It tightened more when he was sure he heard her sigh but it sounded like in exasperation.

"Yeah Dom, everything's fine, here let me talk to him," Orihime said and the next moment he heard her clearly on the line.

"Kurosaki-kun," she said but the usual warmth when she said his name was not present, "what's up?"

He wasn't sure what to say for a moment but finally managed, "Um, nothing much, I just wanted to check on you. I texted you a week ago and hadn't heard back so I wanted to make sure you were ok. Who was that who answered the phone?"

"I'm fine, as for why you didn't hear back my cell phone died and I haven't had time to get a new one yet," she replied, still not quite sounding like the same girl he knew when she was in Karakura and noticeably avoiding his last question.

"Oh, well, that makes sense then, I was…" but before he could continue she interrupted him, "Sorry to worry you Kurosaki-kun. I'd love to stay and talk but I have to get going. We'll talk later, ok?"

"Yeah, but Inoue, who's with you, are you sure you're ok?" he asked again.

She replied swiftly, "Yes, Kurosaki-kun, I'm fine. That was Dom."

"I heard his name when you spoke to him, I'm asking who he is," Ichigo pushed getting irritated that she was avoiding the question.

"He's a friend, didn't you tell me to get out and meet people not too long ago?" there was slight jest in her voice but it was strained.

"Yeah, I guess…" and he trailed off, not really knowing what to say.

She waited a beat before saying, "Listen Kurosaki-kun, I am sorry that you were worried about me but I'm fine. I'm just busy as I'm sure you are. I have to run but we'll talk again soon. Have a goodnight."

"Yeah, sure, goodnight Inoue," he replied and then she was gone.

Ichigo felt a sense of foreboding creeping up his spine as he set his phone down. He'd sworn to himself he would let her go, that she deserved so much better than anything he could offer her. But hearing a male's voice, one he didn't know anything about at all, on her phone, in her room, where she may be alone with him made his willpower wavier and he found himself and his hollow chomping at the bit to race to her side and tell her everything regardless of the consequences.